Just How DOES one Save Instant Messages?
I certainly don't know. I use Windows Messenger and I don't see any way to save the messages EXCEPT by deliberately cutting and pasting the entire conversation to, say, a Word document and saving that. In other words, somebody in the conversation must WANT to save the conversation and deliberately do so.
Of course this is in reference to the Foley case. Foley is the gay, Republican, former Representative who had salacious instant message conversations with congressional pages. What we know, apparently, I'm not on the "inside", is that Foley never had sex with a minor, never solicited sex, and may not have actually been alone with the page(s). We know that Foley DID indeed make those inappropriate comments and was absolutely disgusting in interacting with a former page and that he knew it and resigned.
We are told, variously, that this started 3 years ago, that the page was 16 (above age of consent?), that the page is now a Republican campaign manager (!), that the page's parents and the page didn't want to pursue an inquiry as recently as one year ago, that the e-mails are not dirty even if they are inappropriate, that many folks (parents, House leadership) didn't know the IMs existed/had taken place.
It may be that the IMs were deliberately saved (by whom and how?) to embarrass Foley and the Republicans now/for this election. It may be that the DEMOCRAT leadership knew about the IMs BEFORE the Speaker of the House and did nothing to protect "the children". It may be that "the children" i.e. some of the pages were punking Representative Foley and that they saved the communications for yucks back at the dormitory.
Now, we are going to be subjected to news of a Congressional investigation, and FBI investigation, and more. There will be leaks, there will be accusations and there will be lots and lots of lying. It will really be about politics NOT about protecting pages or interns.
I'm pretty POed about the whole thing which is why I haven't written about it earlier. Just another politician who wasn't what he said he was doing what he shouldn't because he thinks he's above the rest of us and doing it with somebody who thinks that going along will get him ahead. Although I used the male pronoun you can substitute any combination of gender specific references, that's how sick this country has become. Good riddance to Foley, let's try again, but, please, not with a Democrat. Those folks would have done NOTHING to one of their own who did this. They've proven that with Studs, Frank and Kennedy. Let's vote ISSUES like national security (close the borders to illegals and defeat terrorists), the economy (make the tax cuts permanent, end the death tax), energy (allow drilling in US oil fields and allow building of more refineries, encourage alternative fuels that WORK), and justice (tort reform, national concealed handgun reciprocity). Vote Republican.
and related to this latest are these top ten Democrat "sex" scandals...
10. Sen. Daniel Inouye. The 82-year-old Hawaii Democrat was accused in the 1990s by numerous women of sexual harassment. Democrats cast doubt on the allegations and the Senate Ethics Committee dropped its investigation.
9. Former Rep. Gus Savage. The Illinois Democrat was accused of fondling a Peace Corps volunteer in 1989 while on a trip to Africa. The House Ethics Committee decided against disciplinary action in 1990.
8. Rep. Barney Frank. The outspoken Massachusetts Democrat hired a male prostitute who ran a prostitution service from Frank’s residence in the 1980s. Only two Democrats in the House of Representatives voted to censure him in 1990.
7. Former Sen. Brock Adams. The late Washington Democrat was forced to stop campaigning after numerous accusations of drugging, assault and rape, the first surfacing in 1988.
6. Former Rep. Fred Richmond. This New York Democrat was arrested in 1978 for soliciting sex from a 16-year-old. He remained in Congress and won re-election—before eventually resigning in 1982 after pleading guilty to tax evasion and drug possession.
5. Former Rep. John Young. The late Texas Democrat increased the salary of a staffer after she gave in to his sexual advances. The congressman won re-election in 1976 but lost two years later.
4. Former Rep. Wayne Hays. The late Ohio Democrat hired an unqualified secretary reportedly for sexual acts. Although he resigned from Congress, the Democratic House leadership stalled in removing him from the Administration Committee in 1976.
3. Former Rep. Gerry Studds. He was censured for sexual relationship with underage male page in 1983. Massachusetts voters returned him to office for six more terms.
2. Former Rep. Mel Reynolds. The Illinois Democrat was convicted of 12 counts of sexual assault with a 16-year-old. President Bill Clinton pardoned him before leaving office.
1. Sen. Teddy Kennedy. The liberal Massachusetts senator testified in defense of nephew accused of rape, invoking his family history to win over the jury in 1991. Not to mention a certain incident at Chappaquiddick in 1969 which wasn’t so much about sex as it was about swimming (or lack thereof).
